Soon, there was a commotion at the entrance. Her uncle was arguing with someone. Lai Hui knew it was her father, Zhang Zongxiang, who was there, timidly keeping his head down. Her uncle had already raised his fist, but Lai Hui quickly got up and rushed to the door, pulling her uncle back, saying, “Let him in!” Zhang Zongxiang cried from the door to the body, but after a brief glance, he turned his face away, then approached Lai Hui, attempting to offer some words of comfort. Lai Hui extended her left hand expressionlessly and said, “Thank you, please leave this way!” Zhang Zongxiang, feeling rebuffed and with nothing more to say, had barely stepped out when Lai Hui also crossed the threshold, stopping him: “I’m here to inform you, please move out of my house within three days!” “Lai Hui, I am your father!” Zhang Zongxiang thought his presence alone was an act of kindness, not expecting even his own daughter to treat him this way. “Secretary Lin!” she called out. Secretary Lin stepped forward, pulling out several IOUs from his pocket and handing them to her. Lai Hui unfolded them one by one, showing them to Zhang Zongxiang, then said, “Ouyang has transferred your debts to me, totaling one hundred and eighty-five thousand yuan! Dad, as far as I know, you didn’t even get that million. I won’t pressure you, but if possible, please repay it within a year!” Her voice was gentle and accommodating, but Zhang Zongxiang was trembling with anger, pointing his trembling finger at her nose, but before he could touch her, relatives surrounded him, their eyes glaring angrily at him. Zhang Zongxiang shrank back, stepped back a few steps, and then ran quickly towards the funeral home’s main gate. Her uncle spat out a curse, then said to Lai Hui, “Why do you still call him ‘Dad’?” Lai Hui stared indifferently at the increasingly faint black figure in the distance and said, “Why can’t I call him that? Every time I call him ‘Dad’, I’m just asking him for the money he owes!”
She returned to the funeral parlor, and behind her, Secretary Lin stood like a wooden stake for a long time until a cold wind blew, sending a banyan leaf onto his head, snapping him back to reality. He muttered to himself, “What kind of family is this? What kind of father-daughter relationship?” Lai Hui herself didn’t know. Since she was seven, whenever she wanted her father, she would call her mother ‘Dad’ and get a piece of candy in return. To get candy, she called out dozens of times a day, but later, when she got cavities, she stopped calling him ‘Dad’. Kneeling beside her mother’s body, her hands gripping the edge of the black coffin, as it was about to be sealed, this was her final farewell. She plucked a white calla lily from a nearby pot and placed it in her mother’s folded hands on her chest. Biting her lower lip, the taste of blood spread in her mouth; she swallowed and then said, “Mom, while you were alive, I did everything to honor you; now that you’re gone, I won’t shed a tear at your grave!” As she stood up, she bit her lip again in a moment of dizziness, the pain invigorating her. She turned, closed her eyes, and clearly called out, “Seal the coffin!” As the lid slowly closed, the grinding sound vibrated through the mourners’ nerves, filling the hall with cries and songs recounting the deceased’s life, except for the serene face in the photograph, except for Lai Hui who clenched her teeth and fists, and Zhou Yuqian, who was pained for her, everyone was immersed in their own sorrow.
The cremated remains were temporarily stored at the funeral home, set to be taken back to their hometown for burial the next day. Back at the Nanling Villa, there was no mint tea in the study, not even a glass of plain water. She sat opposite Zhou Yuqian, across a wide desk, but the distance between them was far greater than that. Just a few days ago, she was sitting on Zhou Yuqian’s lap, playing online games together. These few days might make them miss each other for a lifetime. “I request to terminate the contract!” she said in a businesslike tone. “I will compensate for the remaining two months with triple the payment, you can deduct it directly!” Zhou Yuqian was not surprised; what he had seen and heard at the funeral was enough for him to guess her next move. “No need for compensation, just agree to one request of mine.” “What request?” “Spend the Chinese New Year with me!” He twirled the ballpoint pen in his hand, its tip a transparent little bear, a whole tube of which Lai Hui had bought for his desk. “Please, Director Zhou, don’t make things difficult for me. You know I can’t return to City A for the New Year!” “It doesn’t have to be in City A!” She took a deep breath. “Do you think I can celebrate the New Year while still in mourning for my mother?” “Indeed not!” Zhou Yuqian paused, then said, “Then spend a week with me after your mourning period!” “I’m afraid that’s not possible!” She stood up abruptly. “It seems we can’t reach an agreement. If Director Zhou insists on making things difficult for me, then I’ll take nothing. If you insist on compensation for breach of contract, I’m sorry, you can sue me. After all, I’m alone with no money.” With that, she slammed the door and left. Zhou Yuqian snapped the pen in his hand. Why was she so stubborn? Why did she insist on bearing everything alone? Was it because she found him unreliable? He switched to a fountain pen, wrote a check, chased after her, and grabbed her at the entrance of the living room. “Do you really want to leave me?” Lai Hui kept her head down, silent. Silence was her answer. He handed her the check, still not letting go of her hand. “Do you hate me?” Lai Hui shook her head. “You’ve given me no reason to hate you.” “Then promise me you’ll come back!” He was pleading now, admitting to himself it was a plea. Still, she remained silent, staring at her toes. “I should go!” With that, she turned and left eagerly.
Having restrained himself for so long, he suddenly lost all reason. He gripped her shoulders with great force and roared, “Even if I say I love you, that I want to marry you, you would still leave, wouldn’t you?” In his fury, he didn’t notice her slight trembling nor see her biting her lip again. By the time he calmed down, her response was as calm as still water. “Chairman Zhou, I’m just an ordinary person with nothing to my name; all this property in my hands was given by you.” She looked up, meeting his gaze. “So, I just want to live, to live well!” He let go of her; after what she said, how could he not? Behind her was the empty villa, luxurious yet cold, devoid of any warmth. The only warmth in that house had now walked under the streetlamp, the pale light casting upon her slender figure. The wind blew dead leaves to her feet, and with her back to him, he still saw that she had bitten her lip until it bled.
The winter sea breeze was damp and cold; she tightened her scarf, pulling it so tight it hurt her neck, coughing a few times, tears welling up like stars. Yu Qian—how could you know my longing, my pain? I long for you to still call my name in your heart, and the pain is that, from now on, I will keep calling out for you—Yu Qian, Yu Qian, Yu Qian!
Li Yueqin spent the past few days in anxiety, though not without a guilty conscience, she had to admit that upon learning that person had left Zhou Yuqian, she felt so elated she wanted to celebrate with alcohol. People say the Chinese are superstitious, and she feared that her misdeeds would catch up with her, or worse, that ghosts might haunt her, so she didn’t dare to be too reckless. She had anticipated that person might come to confront her, so she was prepared to earnestly explain how she had been hurt by Zhou Yuqian, that her actions were impulsive. However, days passed, and not a word of reproach came, making her wonder if that person felt guilty and had decided to let it go.
